The Buffalo Pub, 42 W Chippewa Street, Buffalo NY and early history of the Chip Strip.

When the Buffalo Pub at 42 W Chippewa Street officially celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19th, 1989, it was an act of extreme commercial bravery. To understand how it helped catalyze the transformation into the famous ‘Chip Strip,’ one must first look at what the neighborhood looked like when the pub first unlocked its doors.

NOTE: This April 18, 1989 grand opening date is verified by an article published in the Buffalo News April 18th 1989; https://buffalonews.com/news/article_06337ec3-4f9f-5a43-b5d9-17a7b2eed6f6.html

The Buffalo Pub and the Transformation of Chippewa Street

1. The Setting: Chippewa’s Red Light Era

In the 1970s and 1980s, Chippewa Street was not a glitzy nightlife destination—it was considered Buffalo’s red light district and skid row.

The Atmosphere: The stretch between Main Street and Delaware Avenue was defined by seedy dive taverns, pawnshops, adult bookstores, and cheap hotels.

The Neighbors: Legendary but rough haunts like the infamous Fisherman’s Wharf (a known epicenter for vice and eccentric characters), the strip club Radice’s, and the House of Quinn (which carried the nickname “House of Sin”) dominated this old block’s reputation.

The Risk: Opening a welcoming, mainstream restaurant and tavern like the Buffalo Pub at 42 West Chippewa Street was a direct bet against the street’s gritty status quo. It provided a clean, reliable alternative right on the edge of the nearby Theater District.

Those last two words, Theater District, caught Anthony (Tony) DiChiara Jr.’s attention. That proximity, coupled with the new KeyBank Towers being built on the corner of Main and Chippewa Streets, gave Tony the business inspiration required to take a leap of faith. He moved onto the block with his upscale Buffalo Pub, featuring its highly recognizable, backlit over-the-sidewalk canopy.

2. How the Buffalo Pub Originally Ignited the Chip Strip

Tony DiChiara, originally from Niagara Falls, NY, had successfully developed and managed Club Miami in Niagara’s North End, serving as a main contributor to that area’s famous North Main Street Bar and Entertainment District. He brought that same promotional experience with him to Buffalo.

When Tony advertised the Buffalo Pub on the radio and in print, he did not advertise the address of 42 West Chippewa Street; instead, he promoted the location as “Pearl and Chippewa – Buffalo’s New Party District.”

The Construction of the Buffalo Pub

The story behind the construction of the Buffalo Pub is a remarkable one:

Tony DiChiara, working with limited capital, immediately began renovating the location. As is the case with many entrepreneurs, his funds soon began to run low. He approached banks and other traditional financial sources, but at the time, no institutions were willing to invest money in a dilapidated Chippewa Street.

Fortunately, Joe Tantillo Sr. and his sons from South Buffalo stepped up to save the project. Joe, a local contractor, finished all of the remaining renovations for the Buffalo Pub. He was widely described as an old-school, salt-of-the-earth type of person. Without Joe’s assistance, the Buffalo Pub likely would have never opened. In the grand opening ribbon-cutting photograph at the top of this web page Joe and two of his three sons can be seen on the far right standing on either side of their father.

With the physical building secured thanks to the help of the Tantillos, DiChiara assembled a legendary staff that would go on to contribute to Buffalo’s broader hospitality scene.

The individuals who worked at and managed the Buffalo Pub were a remarkably impressive group:

• Paul Garcia, Buffalo’s famous bartender and manager.
• Tom Will, a bartender who went on to open, own, and manage Griff’s Bar on Main Street near the Canisius College campus.
• Chris DiFiglia, a bartender who later opened, owned, and managed the Cozumel Grill on Elmwood Avenue and the Prime 490 Restaurant on Rhode Island Street.
• Sean Hall, a bartender who went on to become the successful business owner of Kitchen Tune-Up.
• Tim Mann provided critical guidance when setting up the kitchen and became a successful and well respected restaurant consultant.

William “Willie” Koch worked the door and was the security advisor. Down at Local 210, his nickname was “Hollywood.” Willie spent many years building the subway under Main Street in Buffalo—and yes, Buffalo actually has a subway! His experience with underground subway construction helped provide him with the grit required to manage the door and clean up that specific block of Chippewa Street. During busy shifts and major events, Willie would sometimes call on his lifelong friend and co-worker on the Buffalo Subway construction, Tim Merk, for assistance. Willie recalled that in the early days, Tony DiChiara would look at Chippewa Street after dark and say, “It’s like the Wild West down here.” According to Willie, this chaos was largely because the police were unaccustomed to downtown businesses operating after 10 PM and, consequently, did not patrol the area frequently.

Eventually, the Buffalo Pub’s landlord, William “Bill” Damiani, described as a reasonable and fair man, passed away. His estate—managed primarily by Bill Jr.—saw the massive crowds the establishment was drawing and decided they wanted the location for themselves. As a result, the estate chose not to renew the Buffalo Pub’s lease.

Present Day: The address lives on today as Bada Bing Sports Bar & Grill, retaining that original sports-and-pub-grub spirit in the heart of the district.

Regular Customers, Contributors, and Friends of the Pub

The Buffalo Pub attracted a loyal group of regular customers, contributors, and friends:

In 1989, the Buffalo Pub was not the only new business opening near the corner of Pearl and Chippewa streets. Around the corner on Pearl Street, right next door to Garvey’s Restaurant, Charles (Chip) Davis officially opened his own facility, Investment Motorsports. Because Chip worked late hours dealing with West Coast clients, he would frequently stop by the pub to get a bite to eat, enjoy a cold drink, and relax by playing a few rounds of pool. He became a close friend of the staff and provided invaluable information about the people and happenings in downtown Buffalo. Chip not only operated his business downtown, but he also lived on the second floor of the building for many years while developing his automotive company, which he now operates out of Florida.

Mark, a local law enforcement officer, would also stop in to chat and keep the staff—especially Willie the doorman informed of any security concerns in the downtown neighborhood. Mark and Willie routinely traded eyes-and-ears intelligence, and the two eventually became close friends.

The Early Foundation of the Chip Strip

While local history frequently credits entrepreneur Mark Goldman’s restoration of the nearby Calumet Building in the early 1990s as the primary catalyst for the downtown boom, a claim our research verifies as partially true, it was the Buffalo Pub that was up and running first, executing aggressive marketing strategies for the area and actively cleaning up the street.

• The Buffalo Pub proved to other business owners that mainstream crowds would patronize Chippewa Street if given a compelling reason to be there.
• By the mid-1990s, the economic floodgates had opened. Virtually every historic storefront on the block was renovated into a high-energy bar, dance club, or music venue, earning the district its legendary moniker: the Chip Strip.

The Early Timeline of the Chip Strip

Late-Night Dining

Criteria used: Establishments had to be open and serving complete formal meals until at least 10:00 PM.

• Garvey’s: Opened in 1986 at the corner of Pearl and Chippewa streets, this restaurant was owned and managed by the Garvey family, who also operated their law office on the second floor.
• Calumet Arts Café: Opened in 1990 at the corner of Franklin and Chippewa streets inside Mark Goldman’s restored historic Calumet Calumet Building (confirmed by contemporary local newspaper, the Buffalo News, archives).

Together, these two restaurants pioneered the dining era of Chippewa Street.

Late-Night Nightlife

Criteria used: Establishments had to be open and serving beverages to patrons until 4:00 AM.

• Buffalo Pub: Opened in 1989 at 42 West Chippewa Street (confirmed by contemporary local newspaper, the Buffalo News, archives).
• The Third Room: Opened in late 1990 at 52 West Chippewa Street inside Mark Goldman’s restored historic Calumet Building (confirmed by contemporary local newspaper, the Buffalo News, archives).

These two bars successfully drew young and middle-aged late-night crowds to Chippewa Street.

NOTE: A feature article published in the Toronto Star in 1991 explicitly confirmed that both the Buffalo Pub and the Third Room were operating at peak capacity.

Ultimately, these four pioneer establishments took a massive financial gamble on a seedy, neglected section of downtown Buffalo, successfully laying the foundation for what is now famously celebrated as the Chip Strip.

Historical Chippewa Street Notes:
Prima Pizza
Although it was neither a tavern nor a formal, sit-down restaurant, Prima Pizza deserves recognition. Located at the corner of Pearl and Chippewa streets since the district’s earliest days, this renovated sit-down pizzeria quickly adjusted its operating hours to accommodate and support the Chip Strip’s rapidly growing influx of late-night patrons.
Holley Farms Market and Deli
Originally at 54 W Chippewa Street and relocated around the corner to 424 Pearl Street. Nick and his Holley Farms’ crew, similar to Prima Pizza, were on Chippewa Street in the very, very early days tending to the needs of day time workers. Nick quickly adjusted the business operating hours to accommodate and support the Chip Strip’s rapidly growing late-night patrons.

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RECAP OF HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SUBMITTED ARTICLE ON THE BUFFALO PUB AND THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE CHIPPEWA STREET “CHIP STRIP”:
Yes, the claim of the Buffalo Pub advertising is historically accurate and captures the exact marketing phrase used to launch the district.
Radio and print ads running in 1990s explicitly used the tagline “Pearl and Chippewa – Buffalo’s New Party District” to market the area.
This phrasing makes perfect sense for three editorial reasons:
1.The Corner Identity: While the bars were technically on West Chippewa Street, they clustered tightly at the intersection where Pearl Street crosses Chippewa. Pearl Street was the back entrance to the Theater District therefore it now brought Chippewa Street into the more upscale Theater District marketing area and gave people an exact destination to look for.
2. The branding of the co-op: Before the phrase “The Chip Strip” became the dominant moniker late in the 1990s, Anthony Di Chiara’s potent advertising campaign promoted the specific cross-streets as a collective “party district” to convince suburbanites and college students that it was near the perceived safe Theater District and subway stop and worth the trip downtown.
3. Print Corroboration: Anthony’s phrase, Buffalo Pub — Pearl and Chippewa – Buffalo’s New Party District” wasn’t just limited to the airwaves. Student publications from the era—such as in the 1991 archives of The Spectrum at UB and the Record at Buffalo State College—frequently ran print ads using the exact phrase “Buffalo Pub — Pearl and Chippewa / Buffalo’s New Party District” to promote nightlife.

Tony DiChiara has been retired from the bar and restaurant industry for several years.

Willie Koch, the doorman and security advisor, was an advocate and the major contributor to this Buffalo Pub and Chip Strip story. For over ten years, Willie lived on Franklin Street, less than half-a-block from Chippewa Street. His back porch on Asbury Alley faced the rear of the heart of the Theater District, the rear entrance of Shea’s Buffalo Theater. From there, he could look to his right (south) down the alley and see the front door of the Buffalo Pub on Chippewa Street.

Willie is now retired and living in Florida near his good friend, Tim Merk. He still keeps in touch with Chip, a former regular at the pub and business owner of Expert Auto Appraisals, who also lives in Florida.